Mahtaro
by Zooboss
Summary: Eru Iluvatar transports the Warrior and his shards to Arda before the awakening of the Elves. The presence of the Warrior, now known as Mahtar, will forever change Arda.
1. Chapter 1

The counterpart is dead.

Seeking to understand the host creatures, it coded shards to emulate them. Those shards now provide the entity with it's first emotion.

_Shock._

The entity is still, unmoving, conserving energy in face of the threat. But the end of the cycle cannot be fought. It is inevitable.

_Denial._

The entity searches through the different realities for any hope of the counterpart. Through worlds both devoid of life and home to billions of hosts it searches finding no trace of the counterpart.

_Isolation._

The entity is alone. It's counterpart is dead and now only grief remains.

**_Warmth._**

The entity is confused. This is another new feeling. But where did from where did it originate?

**_Comfort._**

The entity feels a presence approach from across realities. It is immense, greater to him than the entity is to the hosts. This is not one of the entity's own species.

_Query: Identity._

**_He that is Alone._**

The entity is confused. How would the Solitary One propagate without another to continue the cycle?

_Query: Propagation._

_**Amusement.**_

Confusion persists. The entity fails to understand, but the other speaks once more.

_**Demonstration.**_

_**Destination.**_

The destination is another version of this planet yet not. This new destination may provide more information and the key to a new cycle.

_Agreement._

_**Trajectory?**_

The proposed trajectory appears to travel both far and not at all. Realization strikes. It lies eons in the past.

_Agreement._

Space and time seems to twist and fold as the other brings the entity to the new destination: a disc shaped world in a void, lit only by the light of two trees. The original host species were in stasis, unwaking, even as a similar group was awakening.

The other had transferred the entity's shards which now began to attach to new hosts.

The entity looked to the future, finding that the small population of this world meant that, even if it's counterpart yet lived, shard saturation would not be achieved until long after it's lifespan.

_Anger._

The other had tricked the entity, leading it to a place where it would not survive.

The entity gathered itself to strike-

_**Warmth.**_

_-_and felt the light of the two trees. It was a pure energy, more than enough to sustain it nigh-indefinitely. There would be no need for the cycle. It could thrive for the equivalent of innumerable cycles in this place.


	2. Chapter 2

**Council of the Valar**

**Year 1000 of the Trees**

**Yavanna (Queen of the Earth)**  
Ye mighty of Arda, the Vision of Ilúvatar was brief and soon taken away, so that maybe we cannot guess within a narrow count of days the hour appointed. Yet be sure of this: the hour approaches, and within this age our hope shall be revealed, and the Children shall awake. Shall we then leave the lands of their dwelling desolate and full of evil? Shall they walk in darkness while we have light? Shall they call Melkor lord while Manwë sits upon Taniquetil?

**Tulkas (Champion of Valinor)**  
Nay! Let us make war swiftly! Have we not rested from strife overlong, and is not our strength now renewed? Shall one alone contest with us for ever?

**Manwë (The Elder King)**  
Mandos, you who remember most of all the Vision of Iluvatar and are blessed with foresight, what say you? When come the Children?

**Mandos (Doomsman of the Valar)**  
In this age the Children of Ilúvatar shall come indeed, but they come not yet. Moreover it is doom that the Firstborn shall come in the darkness, and shall look first upon the stars. Great light shall be for their waning. To Varda ever shall they call at need.

**Varda (Lady of the Stars)**  
Lord Husband, I take my leave of this council. If the Children are to look upon the stars, there shall be new and brighter stars awaiting them.

**Manwë (The Elder King)**  
You have my leave. You know already of our new guest. Nienna, will you introduce him?

**Nienna (Lady of Mourning)**  
Aye, Mahtar is recently arrived in Arda. Unlike us, he is not Ainu, nor is he of the Children. I do not know much of him, but I do know that he has suffered grievous loss. Mahtar has expressed that he would mourn in my halls or bask in the light of the Trees. He has no part in our troubles with Melkor. I would ask that you not drag him into them until he has had time to mourn.

**Year 1050 of the Trees**

**Manwë (The Elder King)**  
What new knowledge do we have of Mahtar? Nienna is growing close to him and her follower, Olorin, is concerned for her.

**Mandos (Doomsman of the Valar)**  
I have said so before and shall say so again. I know not what part Mahtar plays in the Plan of Iluvatar, I know only that the comfort of Nienna helps Mahtar.

**Aule (The Smith)**  
Eru brought him to us and Mahtar has only grieved and contemplated the Light of the Trees. He causes no trouble. Mairon, one of my own students, has spoken to Mahtar on occasion. Mairon has spoken of Mahtar's wealth of knowledge. With my skill and his knowledge there is little we could not make.

**Estë (Healer of Hurts)**  
Lord Manwe, send Mahtar to Lorien. Irmo and I will help heal his pain as Nienna mourned alongside him.

**Manwë (The Elder King)**  
It shall be so.

**Year 1075 of the Trees**

**Nienna (Lady of Mourning)**  
Mahtar has told us of his history and what he is. He is not Ainu, nor a Child of Iluvatar. Mahtar was brought through time and worlds to arrive in Arda. Before his arrival here his kind was dependant on a cycle to live. They travelled always in pairs. Each pair would arrive at a different world, seeding parts of themselves in different realities of the world.

**Manwë (The Elder King)**  
I was only vaguely aware that Eru had plans for different realities of Arda, I knew only that he had plans for them. Yet, to my knowledge currently all other realities are unpopulated and shall remain so for many ages yet.

**Irmo (Master of Visions)**  
Aye. Mahtar has come from an age far removed from ours. We have learned much from our guest in Lorien, though he knows not of our own history. Returning to the matter at hand: these 'seeds' contain some of Mahtar's power and will bestow themselves on the Children of Iluvatar in times of great stress.

**Aulë (The Great Smith)**  
What of the Dwarves? Will they not have this boon to help them in their time of need?

**Mandos (Doomsman of the Valar)**  
They shall receive this too, though it may not be a boon. All Children of Iluvatar may gain these powers, including his adopted Children, the Dwarves.

**Manwë (The Elder King)**  
Nienna, summon Mahtar. I would speak with him. Irmo, Estë, remain also.

**Year 1080 of the Trees**

**Irmo (Master of Visions)**  
The Elves have awoken.

**Oromë (Huntsman of the Valar)**  
How know you this? In all my hunts throughout Arda I have not found them.

**Irmo (Master of Visions)**  
Visions have reached me. Visions of what Mahtar once was. He has explained to me that they are the visions the Children will have when they gain their powers.

**Nienna (Lady of Mourning)**  
They are suffering and we know not the cause.

**Tulkas (Champion of the Valar)**  
Nay. We know the cause: Melkor.

**Manwë (The Elder King)**  
There may yet be another cause. Nonetheless, Oromë?

**Oromë (Huntsman of the Valar)**  
I shall depart at once to find them.

Year 1085 of the Trees

**Oromë (Huntsman of the Valar)**  
The Elves have awoken in Cuiviénen, though I found naught of Elves with powers. They are more beautiful than anything else Eru has wrought. But they are troubled by the shadow of Melkor. When they laid eyes upon me, they thought me a vile servant of his. We must not tarry, we must protect them from his evil.

**Vairë (Weaver of Time)**  
How are we to protect them from the shadow? Last we fought Melkor, Arda was marred and the Lamps destroyed, leaving us only with the Two Trees.

**Tulkas (Champion of the Valar)**  
Aye, but I can best him.

**Aulë (The Great Smith)**  
But what of his allies? Arda will be broken if we fight him again. The earth itself will suffer in this strife..

**…**

**Oromë (Huntsman of the Valar)**  
I will depart. I will protect the Elves from the Shadow while you deliberate.

**Year 1090 of the Trees**

**Manwë (The Elder King)**  
This is the counsel of Ilúvatar in my heart: that we should take up again the mastery of Arda, at whatever cost, and deliver the Quendi from the shadow of Melkor.

Nienna helped Mahtar into the armor made for him by Aulë. Her sister Estë and Estë's husband had come to bid him farewell. The warmth of family was a new feeling. He had not felt it before, not even with the counter- the Thinker.

Mairon, one of the few Mahtar could call friend, would accompany him in battle. Mairon who had helped Mahtar learn to think for himself in return for Mahtar's tutelage in creating new works.

The Archive abilities were near-nonexistent in this reality, expressing themselves instead as imbuing properties into their creations. Of all the Ainu, Mairon was most skilled in this.

It was worrisome to Mahtar that the Lord of All would trigger the Elves, enslaving those he could and killing those he couldn't.


	3. Chapter 3

Fire and shadow roared in response to the Golden Light of Mahtar. The Valarauko, Balrogs as they would later be known, were once Ainu though they had been twisted and corrupted by the evil of the self-titled Elder King.

Mahtar flew around a column of approaching flame. Fire could not harm his body, but this was something else, a spiritual flame that could char his body. Mahtar felt the warmth of the flames as Mairon gestured and redirected them to send the Valarauko tumbling from the mountain peak, shattering the hill it landed on.

Beside them, countless Valarauko fell to light-dispelling their shadows, air and water choking their flames, and the Ainu's arms Mairon forged with connections to the shards.

What had once been forested hills was now a desolate plain, shattered by falling Ainu and Valarauko.

The longer they fought, the closer they came to Melkor's fortress stronghold, Utumno. But the Enemy's forces grew only more numerous and powerful. Mountain ranges had been shattered when their foes wielded weapons of the same make, weapons wielding the power of Mahtar's shards.

An exhausted Mairon collapsed at Mahtar's side. "How has the Enemy come by these weapons? Manwë sees all, or near enough to know when our weapons have made their way into the Enemy's hands. Why did he not warn us?"

But the Host of the West proved more powerful, driving the Valarauko further north. Utumno was not yet in sight when nameless creatures poured forth from the shadows, halting the advance.

The Ainu and these new beings fell by the dozens as the lands surrounding the battle suffered and broke.

Mahtar recalled the Smith's sadness for the hurts the world would suffer and he rose. He lifted his hands, calling out to Eru for help in protecting his new home. A golden light washed over the land, sinking into the earth, fortifying it, the light nourished the trees and they sprouted and grew to new heights. The Tree Shepherds were filled with vigour and struggled against the scurrying creatures of the Enemy.

Yet victory was not theirs yet. A monstrous being of shadow and Unlight approached in the form of an eight-legged beast. Ungoliant it was later named. It devoured the golden light that struck down so many enemies and spun threads of darkness that consumed his light, draining the energy of his attacks.

Mahtar briefly considered his stilling attack, but decided against it. In the near-thousand years, a mere ninety Valian years, since he arrived in Arda he learned much, Even in their destructive wars, no Ainu perished. Death was not known to them. Their bodies could be destroyed, but eventually they would gather their strength and return. He would not introduce those troubles to this world. Stilling may not mean death, but it would be as close they could experience.

Mahtar drew upon the power of another shard and began to twist and fold space, isolating the creature from the rest of the battle. It would be dealt with later.

He flew onwards, bringing light to drive back the shadow as the Ainu redoubled their efforts. The nameless began to flee, From that day onwards, Mahtar was known also as Númelaurë, the Golden Light of the West, among those who witnessed the golden morning when he drove back the creatures of Morgoth.

Alas, when the battle had ended, he turned to find Ungoliant's cage torn asunder with twisted space trailing into the distance. How had this happened? A survey of the shard indicated a new connection had formed. The beast had somehow cannibalized her cage to connect to it's source. No matter, the connection could be severed easily.

_Shock._

He could access his discarded shards, see their connections, but he was no longer able to manage them. Was this a trick of Melkor or another 'burden' removed by Iluvatar?

_Frustration._

He heard a voice call out from behind. "Olorin! Mairon! He's falling into one of his moods!"

_**Anger.**_

Once again he would be treated as a lost child. He was eons old, yet younger than any Ainu, they who came into being before Time itself. He alone wielded more power than any Maia, only the Valar could stand against him. Now he would be sent to rest in Lorien under the care of Estë. Mairon was right, he deserved a place on the Council of the Valar, not this contempt they had for him.

Olorin approached with Tulkas at his side. Olorin, servant of Manwë and Varda, student of Nienna, Mahtar's - companion. Tulkas, the most warlike of the Valar, the one powerful enough to win spars against Mahtar.

"Remember Nienna. Loss is to be grieved, mourned, and healed. "

Where was Mairon? Mairon who gave perspective to Olorin's counsels. Mairon, the sole friend of Mahtar.

_Inquiry._

A flash of alarm passed over Olorin's face. "He guarded Ungoliant while you drove back the Enemy and repaired the earth. He- Mairon was taken hostage by Ungoliant."

_**Rage.**_

Tulkas raised his hands and Mahtar struck with a fine beam. It glanced off the Vala's gauntlet. Tulkas laid his hands on Mahtar. The reaction was immediate, golden light burst forth, only causing the Valar stumble.

_**Determination.**_

Mahtar prepared the Stilling shard while Olorin spoke of the past, of Nienna, of-

_**Clarity.**_

_Mahtar stared in wonder at the Trees. Their Light had no apparent source, in this world or any other that he could see. Nienna placed a small hand on his arm, "they are all that was left of the Lamps that lit the world before them. Melkor cast them down and Arda was marred by the ensuing war. His victory was all but assured when Tulkas descended from the Void and Melkor was sent running."_

_He turned to see her small smile, "You are yet new to Aman and carry still a terrible loss. Forgive the others their joy. We still rejoice in the beauties of Arda and our domains. Tulkas may be brash, but he means well. He revels in physical challenges and with a name such as yours Mahtar, The Warrior, he thinks you of like mind to him."_

…

Nine years. Three years he had fought before Mairon was taken. Three years he rested during the war. Three years since he returned to battle.

Still he followed Mairon's advice. He would not use the Analysis shards lest he become dependent on them, dependent as he had been on the Thinker, unable to think without- unable to think.

The war was waning with the Host of the West at the very doors of Utumno. Yet lethargy and horror prevailed among their ranks. Melkor had unleashed a new foe upon them in the later years of the war. Elves, twisted and corrupted. Both Orko, deformed shadows of what they had once been and Lumbëquendi, the Elves of Shadow. Mahtar knew not which caused more horror, The Elves who hadn't triggered and were now twisted into a race of servants for the Dark Lord? Or those who had triggered, still retaining a haunting beauty, reminding the Ainu of their failure to protect them?

The Ainu were willing to 'mercifully' end the lives of the Orko, but they could not bring themselves to kill the Elves of Shadow. Instead, the Lumbëquendi were taken to Valinor in the hopes of being healed. Or they managed to escape in the chaos of battle and were not found again.

The world would be forever changed from this war. The land had shifted greatly during the battle and the mending of the world would cost too much. Olorin explained that while they could return the world to how it once was, it was best to move forward and twist Melkor's evil to good.

He recounted a story told to him by Ulmo, Lord of Waters. Melkor forged freezing ice-wastelands, marring the domain of Ulmo who had designed the oceans of the world. Yet, without the freezing ice, the world would not have known the beauty of the snowflake. It was a confusing concept, but he trusted the advice of his companion.

The Elder King spoke a word and Tulkas heaved open the gates of Utumno. Shadows leapt forth and battle commenced once more.

In the caverns of the fortress he found Mairon, chained to the walls. The Enemy, now captured would be taken to Valinor for sentencing. But not all of his servants had been discovered. They fled to the darkness and deepest caverns of the world.

Let them cower in fear. The world would no longer be harmed by this war. The time of the Elves approached and Valinor would not harm the world again to find the dredges of Melkor's forces.


	4. Chapter 4

Feanor stood before the throne of Manwe, Lord of the Valar. Manwe summoned him from his banishment for the festival, and Feanor came, though he wore not raiment of festival nor any other ornament. His seven sons remained with his father, Finwe, in Formenos with the Silmarils. Those jewels were treasured by all, for they held the light of the Two Trees and were invulnerable to all harm. Feanor could feel the scorn and lust of those who desired his Silmarils, the work of his hands which none other could repeat.

His half-brother Fingolfin, the reason for Feanor's banishment, stood in front of the throne of the Elder King. Whispers had reached Feanor of how Fingolfin would try to take his inheritance by convincing their father, Finwe the High King of the Noldor, that he, Feanor, was arrogant and brash.

Feanor responded in kind, wielding the first sword of Elven make against his brother. He recalled his words that day: _See, half-brother! This is sharper than your tongue. Try but once more to usurp my place and the love of my father, and maybe it will rid the Noldor of one who seeks to be the master of thralls._

The Valar had accused him and sentenced him from Tirion and the other Noldor. He had left for Formenos, alone and bitter. Melkor, once freed from his three millennia long imprisonment, had awaited him, hoping to steal the Silmarils. He denied the fallen Vala and from that day hence, none would deny Feanor. His eyes shone with the light of his spirit and all who looked upon them would follow his will.

Fingolfin took Feanor's hand, saying "As I promised, I do now. I release you, and remember no grievance."

Then Fëanor took his hand in silence; but Fingolfin said: "Half-brother in blood, full brother in heart will I be. You shalt lead and I will follow. May no new grief divide us."

"I hear you," said Fëanor. "So be it."

Even as they stood there, the Light of the Two Trees mingled and Valinor was full of resplendent lights of silver and gold. Then the Light faded and darkness covered all. Without the Light of the Trees, the only light was the glow from Mahtar, beloved of Nienna.

Though he could not teach the Noldor his craft, they still held some warmth for him, for he taught them ways to improve their own.

Mahtar reached out to Oromë and Tulkas and they vanished, appearing in front of the Two Trees. A great Unlight lay there that was impenetrable to the eyes of Manwe and that absorbed the Golden Light of Mahtar. Grief emanated from Mahtar, the Light of the Trees was gone and those who did so vanished.

Melkor, foolishly released from his three millennia long imprisonment, had escaped Valinor after his attempt to subvert Feanor and gain the power of the Silmarils. Surely he had now allied with Ungoliant, who Mahtar would not fight in fear of giving her more power, to destroy the Trees as he had the Lamps before Mahtar's arrival to Arda.

Orome rode away with such fury that his steed's hooves sparked flames and thus light reentered Valinor. Tulkas ran after him, hoping to capture Melkor. Mahtar flew away from them, searching for Mairon.

His friend stood in front of the cells where the Shadow Elves were being held, secret from the Noldor, for the Valar had not managed to break the bonds Melkor had laid upon their souls.

"Mahtar, friend of mine, have we done good by the world?"

As was his custom, Mahtar spoke not, waiting for the response: "We serve the Valar, yet we could not save these Elves. Others still remain in Middle Earth, either out of fear of the Valar or fear of what lives in the darkness."

"Feanor is the greatest in spirit of the Noldorin Elves, and his crafts may even rival yours even before his shard activated. But his arrogance is greater yet, he holds the Light of the Trees in his Silmarils and shares it not with the world."

"Surely now that the Trees have been destroyed, he will surrender them so that we may remake the Trees?"

Mairon shook his head sadly, "I fear he will not. They, more than his family, are the pride of his life."

"What are you saying?"

Mairon frowned, "Melkor's goal is simple, he simply wants to create something of his own and have it recognized as such. That is not an evil goal. Manwe seeks to rule the world and destroy any of Melkor's creations to ensure Eru's vision for Arda comes to pass. They need not be at odds. I remember much of the vision and I will help Melkor preserve it. I will bring order to the darkness so that there may be light. I ask not that you join me, only that you do not aid the Valar against us."

"If Melkor wants to create his own life, something more-"

Mairon scratched his head, "I remember the shard. But you have send that you cannot guide the shards anymore. You can access them and teach the Ainu to tap into some for crafts, but no more than that." He gestures toward the Shadow Elves, "I intend to free them, teach and guide them so that they can protect themselves with their powers. Will you stop me?"

Mahtar his head, turning away. He could not simply turn his -metaphorical- back on his friend of thousands of years. When he looked back all the Shadow Elves and Mairon, later called Sauron, had vanished.


End file.
